Material Monster

I have been seeing the word podcasting floating around the Internet for a while. And actually read an article that stated it’s arrival. However, it never really gave me any information about Podcasting. And yes, my curiosity got the better of me. I decided it was time to find out more about podcasting, and learn the what and howand if it could help my business. And, most importantly, how much I would have to spend to partake in this new technology.

What is Podcasting?

Podcasting is simply a web blog that is in an audio format. And the audio portion is presented by way of an MP3 file. In essence, it is your own radio broadcast, relating to anything you want. The transmission of the podcast is through an RSS (Real Simple Syndication) technology.

How Can I Use It In My Business?

How Can I Use It In My Business? To me, that is the most important question to answer. Why get the technology if it is not going to be of any use to you. Right? Well, I feel that it can be of use to any business. For example: let’s say that your site is based around a niche market, say cats. You could base your podcast on your niche market, supplying them information and tips about cats, with an audio, and then tell them to follow up to your website or blog, for that matter, for additional information.

What can audio do for your business? It puts a voice behind the website, and makes you a real person. And, by also supplying the same information, with follow-up material in your blog, you have made a connection. You are now a real person, with a real voice, and not a faade.

Where can I get a Podcast?

If you’re new to podcasting, know very little about it, and you don’t want to spend very much - if anything — to experiment with this new product, (like myself), than I would suggest getting the ebook by Jeff Mills. He gives you everything you need to know - as well as, getting you up and running. If you want to take a look at what he has offers go to my site at: www.myaffiliateplace.biz/Affiliate_Ebooks_Mills.htm. Or, if you have time on your hands, you can do your own research in this area.

To conclude, it’s always good to be open to new technology when it comes onboard the Internet, and to see if it can work for you and your website. Sometimes it won’t, but other times, it may be what you need.

And remember, people have their own internal comfort zone to retrieving data for themselves. Some like ebooks, while others prefers books. Some like to read, and others like to listen. So you see, if you can give your visitors the best of both worlds, you have a better chance of making them a customer and/or a return visitor.

Vickie J Scanlon has a BBA degree in Administrative Management and Marketing. Visit her site at: www.myaffiliateplace.biz for free and quality promotional tools, affiliate articles, ebooks, how to info, affiliate opportunities, services and products - to meet your budget and needs for those in affiliate marketing.

Podcasting is a great way to reach people and deliver your
message. But what happens when it gets your web site shut
down?

No, I’m not talking about copyright issues, spam or any of
the things you might think of. I’m talking about the problem
of “bandwidth”. I’ll bet you never even thought of that!

Here’s the problem: Podcast files can be very large. Some of
them are over 75MB in size. Every time a file is downloaded
you’re using bandwidth. And your web host puts a limit on how
much bandwidth you can use per month.

A great many web hosts will simply shut down your site when
you reach your limit for the month. Often they don’t even let
you know that it’s happened. When it does, though, your web
site and your podcast are BOTH “off the air”.

Let’s look at how and why this happens. Suppose you have
a 10MB podcast file you want to share with the world. And
let’s suppose you have a few people listening. But how many?
If your host gives you 10GB per month, up to 1000 people can
download the show. So far, so good.

Now suppose you get your podcast listed in iTunes. Suddenly
up to 40,000,000 people are aware of your podcast. Many of
them will want to hear it. That’s great, right?

Well, it is and it isn’t. If too many people start listening
to your podcast, you’ll end up using all of your bandwidth.
There’s nothing left for delivering web pages. So your site
goes down. Or - you get hit with a huge bill for those extra
gigabytes(GB) of bandwidth.

OOPS! You’ve just become a victim of your own success. It has
happened already. One podcaster got his show listed in iTunes
and went from 100 listeners to 6,000 listeners in a few days.
His podcast used 100GB of bandwidth in 3 days!

Guess who had to pay for it? Yep, HE did. Now this guy is very
serious about his show, and he pays the 100s of dollars a month
to make it available. Not everyone can do that…

So what’s the answer? That depends. How serious you are about
having people listen to your show? Can you make any money with
it? Will you make enough to at least cover your cost? And can
you keep your web site “live” for taking orders, etc.?

There are sites that will host and deliver your podcast for a
fee. The quality of service and the pricing varies. But at the
very least, your web site won’t be shut down just because your
podcast has become too successful.

Choose a podcasting service site that has a package you can
afford. Be sure that they actually deliver what they promise.
Be prepared to pay more for better service. And be sure you can
get help if you need it. Ask for actual customer’s comments!

For ease of use, a short learning curve and fanatical customer
service, I highly recommend:

http://www.podblaze.com

Podcasting is a fairly new medium. It’s been around for about a
year. The growth rate is phenomenal and it’s here to stay. The
only question, really, is… When will you start podcasting?

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Steve Humphrey is an author, programmer & Certified Guerilla
Marketer. He has been online for 15 years and enjoys teaching
people how to make powerful programs and web sites with PHP.

http://www.LearnToUsePHPinTwoHours.com
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